


Something Old: Midsummer Night

by Ducks



Series: Something Old [5]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Midsummer, Pagan, Romance, Wheel of the Year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-24
Updated: 2009-07-24
Packaged: 2017-10-02 11:09:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ducks/pseuds/Ducks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ladies hold a circle to celebrate Lughnassadh (Midsummer) -- the guys spy on them.  Smut ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Old: Midsummer Night

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted June 21, 2000. References: "Casting the Circle: A Woman's Book of Ritual" by Diane Stein, "Women's Rituals" by Barbara Walker, "The Book of Goddesses and Heroines" by Patricia Monoghan, "Goddess Meditations" by Gabriel.
> 
> Translations: Only two, really. Angel shouts, "My Goddess, I love you!" in the throes of ecstasy, and calls Buffy his Sex Goddess near the end.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Angel whispered.

"Sh!" Spike hissed.

"If they catch us, we're ALL dust," Xander added.

"Then shut your bleedin' gob, will you? We're almost there!"

The man, the half-demon, the werewolf, and two vampires crept through the heavy darkness of the woods toward the dim firelight they could see glowing at its center.

"This is a women's circle. We don't have any right to be spying on them," Angel insisted once more.

Doyle gave him a wicked grin, "We're not spying. We're leering."

Angel sighed, "Even worse. We're violating sacred tradition."

Spike stopped short and turned around to glare at his Sire. "Listen! Nobody forced any of you to come along! If you're too much of a pussy to do this, then go the Hell home! I, for one, am going to get a glance of some naked Womandancing!" he snapped, spun on his heel, and resumed his march, grumbling as he went.

Doyle shrugged, and followed. Xander considered his next move carefully for a moment, and then did the same. Oz and Angel looked at each other, only able to see one another's uncomfortable looks in the darkness because of their supernatural vision.

"We should go back," Oz said.

Angel nodded. "We should."

"They'll be really pissed if they catch us."

"They will," Angel agreed.

"They could turn us into toads or something."

"They could."

They looked at one another for a moment.

"But... naked-fire-circle-dancing," Angel reminded the redhead.

Oz nodded sagely, remembering the Beltane celebration fondly. "True."

"It might be worth eternity as an amphibian," the vampire added.

Without another word, the two men headed on to catch up with the others.

After a while, the sounds of music and chanting began to carry through the dense forest, and they all found themselves outside the perimeter of the clearing where the women held their circle. A small fire burned cheerfully at its center, bunches of sage and cedar smoldering on the rocks that bordered it.

The five men crouched in the brush, silent... all held their breath as they beheld the sight before them. It was like some painting... the six women stood, all nude and lit golden by the fire's light, their eyes closed as they chanted softly. Some of the men knew some of the names, but not all.

"Gaia, Pasawee, Diana, Astarte...  
Maia, Shekinah, Rhiannon, Hecate...  
Kali, Deidre, Cerridwen, Morrigan...  
Amaterasu, Oshun, Aphrodite, Sheila...  
Asherah, Epona, Inanna, Nu'Kua...  
Shiva, Isis, Oya, Ma'at..."

The chant ended and began again so rapidly that it became a living humming thing in its own right, and Tara's voice rose bold and strong above the rest:

"This is the night of Midsummer, when the sun is at its apex. Our power rises to its peak, and we dance to greet the sun and glory in its light. Our Goddess, we, your daughters, call you... brilliant Fire of Heaven, Living Heat, the Earth's Golden noontides... Virgin of Light, Crone of Darkness, Mother of Time, we call! You live in our hearts through all the seasons of the turning year. Behold, sisters, as she comes... heed her words, for she is our Selves!"

Tara dropped back into the circle and resumed her chanting, and Angel took an involuntary, gasping breath to see Buffy step up to take her place. She threw her arms and legs wide, and called out:

"Ten thousand years I have been sleeping, and now am awakened! My heavy lashes are these woods... they are beckoning! My heart, the clouds, are surprised because you are calling me, calling me! My Earth is bedecked with a thousand flowers. Many breasts of mine, the mountains, joyfully rearing their tips. All wrongs, my hands shall doom to death. I am the defender of every woman as I am the defender of my holy Self.

Earth Mother am I, the Only One; everything springs from me! I carry the seed of all creation! I alone am the bestower of life, and the bringer of the peace that lies beyond the pale of death!"

The chant droned on when she finished, and the music from some unseen source seemed to grow louder, filling all the space between the trees, and the women began to circle, hand in hand.

The males gaped at them as they danced, first in a dizzying spiral, then alone, entranced by the rhythm, each woman allowing the beat to move her in her own way. There seemed to be a million females writhing in the firelight -- one of each sort that walked the Earth. They were a tangle of attributes... of blonde hair, dark, and auburn... tall bodies with long limbs, and shorter ones... some heavy, some big breasted, some with thick legs... some with skin fair as ivory, and others with tawny tans... some had broad hips, and some narrow. All rejoiced in the circle of power they created with their dance.

The rhythm built to a fever pitch, and the frolicking visions cheered, sang, and chanted as the dark of the night began to fade into the first deep grey of the coming dawn.

The five men watched it all, open-mouthed, wide-eyed, and deadly silent. Only when the women collapsed into the grass around the dying fire, laughing, did they come back to their senses once more. No one said a word  
as they turned and tramped back the way they'd come, rushing home to beat the sunrise, and their women's return. They parted and went their separate ways once they reached the street, every one hard with yearning and flabbergasted by the utter power and beauty they had so illicitly witnessed. They never commented aloud... and they would never mention what they had seen again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Angel was still wide awake in bed when he heard Buffy return. He'd been lying there for hours, pondering the Mystery he and the others had invaded.

She was dressed now, but barely, wearing only a thin slip of a dress through which he could clearly see the deep, ruddy peach of her nipples jutting out, and the shadow of the slope of her waist, the luscious curve of her hips...

Buffy set her CD player down on the nightstand and looked down at him.

"Hi," she said softly, her voice smooth and sweet, "I didn't think you'd still be up."

He said nothing, but only smiled at her.

"What?" she asked, climbing on the bed to sit beside him.

"Nothing..." he replied, reaching up to stroke her breast.

"Mmm..." she sighed, "That feels nice..."

Angel pulled her down into his arms and kissed her deeply, still able to feel the power she had raised in the circle humming on her warm skin. He let his hands wander over her electric body, relishing the thrilling tingle it sent through him.

After a moment, she pulled away and rose to her knees, smiling curiously down at him. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"Hm?" he asked, smoothing his hand up her bare thigh and slipping it under her dress, "What do you mean?"

His fingers slowly sought her warmth, and he wasn't surprised to find her hot and moist to the touch. Ecstatic dancing often did that to women.

Buffy let out a little gasp and closed her eyes as he slid a finger gently into her folds, seeking and quickly finding her most aching point. The ritual had left her full of magickal tension, and she marveled at how he had just instinctively known exactly what she needed.

"You..." she moaned softly, "Oh... so... mmm... affectionate..."

Angel sat up, keeping his finger stroking firmly on her nub, feeling her body shiver in response. He eased her down onto the pillows and started kissing her... first lips, then the rest of her face, and then her throat as he caressed her.

"Can't I touch my lover just because I want to?" he whispered into her skin, increasing the pace of his fingers a little as he moved his face down to her chest, "Just because she's too beautiful to resist?"

"Oh... yes... uhhh..." she moaned, forgetting all about their conversation as he laved at her breasts with his tongue, and set her nether-regions on fire with his hands.

His rhythm was strong and even, and Buffy could feel her consciousness quickly sharpening and wavering under his touch... stars burst behind her eyes, and ecstasy grew like a wildfire in her belly... She burned for what seemed an eternity before her vision shattered into pure light as she came, crying out his name and rocking her hips into him.

Angel sat up and looked down at her with a satisfied grin, caressing her inner thighs with a feather touch as he waited for her breathing to return to normal. But before he could say a word or make any move, she was up on her knees before him, and knocked him flat on his back. Without hesitating, she climbed astride him, aching to feel the completion of their bodies together, and he chuckled softly at her look of fierce determination.

Buffy quickly rose up, then eased down on to him, sheathing him deep, and used her inner muscles to clench his hardness as she climbed back up, and slid back down once more. His laughter immediately stopped and he moaned loudly, closing his eyes and placing a hand on either of her hips, guiding her harder, and himself deeper.

She bent forward over him, nipping at his lips with her blunt teeth, bracing her hands on his strong shoulders as she rode him, her passion rising in time with his deepening strokes. Their pelvises banged together with a sweet violence, and Angel found himself recalling how her strong, supple body had looked, writhing in holy ecstasy around the Midsummer fire. The vision, and her certain rhythm... her muscles clamped around him like a hot, wet vice, were all it took.

"Ah! Mo Bandia! Tusa mo chroi istigh inti! God!" he cried out, and Buffy felt him pulse and jerk as he shot his seed inside her with a final seeking thrust.

Angel went utterly limp beneath her, spent, and closed his eyes. She eased off of him, and he moaned weakly at the separation. She tucked herself up against his side, and he put an arm around her, pulling her close, giving her a tender kiss on her forehead before lying back on the pillow once again.

Buffy nestled against his chest, and fiddled absently with the sterling sword pendant he wore.

"So what did you do last night that brought all this on?" she asked, sliding her fingertip over to circle his still-hard nipple.

Angel went tense. "Nothing... I just missed you."

She raised her head up and mock-glared at him. "Liar. I know you guys were there, in the woods. I can feel you, remember? I could hear what you were thinking..."

Angel smiled contritely. "Oh yeah, and what was that?"

Buffy gave him a snarl. "It's not proper for a lady to say such blasphemous things aloud..."

He chuckled. "I couldn't help myself. I only get to see you dance naked around a need-fire a couple of times a year. It's... my way of honoring you as the manifestation of the Goddess."

Buffy laughed. "Oh, I see! So it was a noble, *religious* thing, not a perverted, teenaged boy 'I-want-to-ogle-naked-women-dancing' thing."

Angel grinned and kissed her lightly. "The difference is only nominal, Mo Bandia Gneas..."

She returned his kiss. "What does that mean?"

He pulled her closer. "Sex Goddess..." he growled, and nipped her ear.

Buffy giggled and pulled away, looking deep into his eyes. "You guys are really lucky Willow and Tara didn't turn you all into toads."

Angel chuckled and gave her a hug.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The One" by Gabriel

Lightening bolts of love sparked from your fiery heart-wheel,  
Igniting every monad of my being,  
Beckoning me into the milky spiral of love's flow,  
As we fall, soar and drown in our thickly sensual veils of ecstasy,  
Until all time bends and swirls into a tunnel of procreative power  
that reaches the beginning and end together.  
Where are we, spread so evenly over the skin of the universal beloved?  
"Who is who!" rings out, and is answered by many spirits watching  
and moving through our glance, our touch, our union.  
The bliss of emptiness piercingly ripples through my thinking  
and illuminates it to fantasy unbound.  
It waves and weaves through my feeling, aflame with the wonder of our love,  
It moves and is the cause of our affection and the truth of our joining.

You are the aurora of love that dawns in the wedding dance of the beloved,  
The eyes that are the calm port in a world of spinning madness,  
Drunk with the dew of life that lingers on your freshly kissed lips,  
Flowing in between, and through and in and out of places  
where no one has ever been before.  
Secret places, warmed by the fire of the heart, so inward and deep,  
Where all wounds reach to and end, and all joys begin;  
That gentle place, that arises when we touch, and lingers when we hold;  
That mood, that dispels all unhappy memories  
and enkindles the effulgence of the spirit,  
Born again through this love that we have always been waiting for,  
This love, that moves the ground beneath our feet and spans the lengths of space,  
And turns us around again, until together we are found as one."

From "Goddess Meditations" by Gabriel


End file.
